The director of the Podgorica city company "Water Supply and Sewerage", Aleksandar Nišavić, said that the construction of the most important parts of the wastewater treatment system in Botun is underway and that about 20 percent of the project has been completed.
"By the end of the year, all facilities in the 'gray phase' will be built, after which equipment will be installed and work will be carried out in accordance with the planned dynamics, so that everything will be completed by the scheduled deadline - mid-2028," Nišavić said on "Boje jutra" on TV Vijesti.
He says that there are 20 to 30 workers on the construction site every day, that about 10 machines are active, and that there will be a significantly larger number of workers on the ground in the coming weeks.
"The estimate is that the biological pool will be completed by the end of the week, the excavations themselves will be completed by the end of the week, while excavations are being carried out in parallel on other segments of the plant, on segments that involve sludge processing," he said, explaining that the pool is the largest facility at the plant.
Speaking about the meeting between Podgorica Mayor Saša Mujović and the locals, Nišavić said that he believes that everything that was promised, when it comes to the demands of the people of Botunja, can be implemented within the stated deadlines.
He said that it is still unknown who set fire to the machine at the construction site, and that "Vodovod" has provided all necessary information to the police.
Nišavić pointed out that the quality of air and discharged water will be measured in real time and that in the event of exceeding the limits, the plant would stop operating, or releasing wastewater. Two pools are planned in which, in that case, wastewater would be stored, and "only after the problem is resolved will the wastewater be returned to the system and continue its processing."
He said that the current plant processes 40 percent of wastewater, and that 60 percent of wastewater flows untreated into the Morača River.
"Locals who use water from wells, from the Morača River, who engage in fishing and everything related to the waters that pass from that river through their areas are particularly at risk," Nišavić pointed out.
He emphasized that, with the construction of the new plant in Botun, not a single liter of untreated water will go into the Morača River.
They believe that new sources can be found.
When asked whether the new plant would have the capacity to serve the future settlement of Velje Brdo, Nišavić said that they had considered the issue and reached a solution to connect that settlement to the system.
He explained that the new plant was designed for 230.000 residents, and that around 130.000 were connected to the existing one.
"In this sense, we have entered into a revision of the construction project of collector five, which passes through the settlement of Tološi, in order to include this settlement (Velje brdo) and by increasing the dimensions and expanding the network by 1,2 kilometers, we will enable Velje brdo, in the first phase, as planned, to be connected to the future plant."
The entire project for the new system will cost around 95 million - 47,5 for the construction of the plant itself in Botun, and "40 and a half million euros" for the expansion of the network, said NIšavić.
He said that, based on preliminary analyses, the consultant believes that new sources can be found to supply Velji Brdo, that is, that there are several locations where sufficient quantities of water can be found for the first phase of the settlement - some 14.000 residents and 5.000 employees.
Water will not become more expensive
The director of Podgorica's "Vodovod" said that there will be no increase in the price of water by the end of the year.
"The assumption is that the price will be at the same level or reduced next year," he said.
See more:
Download the app and follow the news
FOLLOW US ON
